


Duality

by reviloo



Category: Twosetviolin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Original Character(s), Tags May Change, Violence, depiction of blood, depiction of injury, setting - conservatory years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:47:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22580464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reviloo/pseuds/reviloo
Summary: Superhero and supervillain conflicts in Brisbane aren't unusual, and Eddy Chen knows this quite well after witnessing his retired mother defending the city for years. It's his mission to continue her legacy as one of the legends of the National Hero Agency, but the only person who is in his way of achieving this goal is the mysterious Firebird, an enigma that Eddy is desperate to figure out.Balancing his conservatory life and the assignments from the True Agency has never been more difficult for Brett Yang. Driven by lingering bitterness from the past, he will do anything to prove to the public that the National Hero Agency isn't as heroic as they claim to be. There is someone who will do anything to stop him though - the Ice Prince himself - and Brett is more than ready to destroy him using whatever means possible.
Relationships: Eddy Chen/Brett Yang
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> originally inspired by damianwayprotectionsquad on tumblr.
> 
> so hello! i'm going to start transferring duality from wattpad over to ao3 - ideally, nothing much should be different; i might be fixing a few continuity errors here and there whenever i catch them, and editing some weird sentences, but they'll be relatively the same. chapter count is just an estimation (four acts, three with approximately 15-20 chapters, one with 3-4), and each (relatively short) chapter will be out on mondays!
> 
> (and;; because i don't like having the chapters be one count off, chapters zero and one are merged here.)
> 
> with that said, enjoy and thank you for reading <3

_December 2011_

Darkness creeped into the edges of his vision as he stumbled forward, the concrete slamming into his shoulder and knocking the wind out of him. A bloody cough racked his frame; his entire body had gone numb from the impact. He had lost all energy to stand up and confront the man towering over him, instead resorting to a pained wince and a glare.

"Were you holding back?" he choked out. "The entire time?"

"So what if I was?"

Words could not explain the shock that went through his entire system at the sound of the voice, at how strangely familiar, yet melodic, it was. He had heard it many times before and was struggling to place a name to it as his surroundings continued to grow blurrier by the second. His mind wasn't working fast enough - it prioritized processing the bitterness and raw anger that simmered in his stomach at himself for being unable to fight back, for being too weak.

He flinched when he saw the very man he swore to kill pointed a finger at his bleeding temple.

"It was nice fighting you."

His enemy’s hands began to glow. He took his final breath, bracing for what was to come, hoping that his boyfriend - his roommate, his confidant, and beyond - could forgive him for leaving too soon-

Pain shot through his entire body before the world fell into eternal oblivion.

* * *

\- **begin: act one; the ice prince.**

_March 2009_

Eddy knew this was coming.

He knew, as soon as his mother dragged him to the agency to begin teaching him how to fight and how to code. This meeting was something he had anticipated for ages and left a gut-wrenching feeling that Eddy claimed to be from excitement; in reality, he was wiping sweaty palms on his pants as he stepped into the National Hero Agency headquarters with his mother right by his side. As soon as the door swung open, everyone stared at the two of them with glowing eyes and dropped jaws, forcing Eddy to shiver in discomfort: he had never received this much attention at school or orchestra, much less a place where he didn't know anyone.

"Relax." His mother's arm pulled him closer. "You'll get used to it."

"How long will it take?"

"Ages. But it'll happen eventually."

A small smile lingered on her face as they turned the corner, away from the hoard of agents and into a narrower hallway. All the way at the end of the hall was a white door, reflecting the fluorescent lights that were too bright for Eddy's taste. He winced as he began to follow his mother, who was already steps ahead, before regaining what little composure he had by quelling his panic.

He took a deep breath when his mother knocked on the door. His hands were in his pockets, clenched tightly into fists as he did anything to further relax his tense shoulders.

"Come in."

His mother opened the door and sauntered in. Eddy lingered outside for a moment, taking one last breath of the stuffy air before following her footsteps and stepping through the door.

* * *

Eddy sat in the kitchen, his hands wrapped around a golden box. It was small and light, yet Eddy couldn't help but feel the weight of it dragging him down. He toyed with the little ornaments that covered it, being sure to not lay a single finger on the clasp - at least, not yet. There would eventually be a time and place where he was forced to open the box, but he didn't feel like doing so just this moment.

_"You know, I'm eager to see how you'll do," Kim said. "I've witnessed some of your training sessions. You're an exact replica of your mother, and I'm sure that once you start training with the ring, you'll be even more powerful. Maybe you'll even surpass her."_

_His mother snickered. "Come on. I think you're overestimating his abilities."_

_"Really? Because from what I've seen, he's a legend already, and he hasn't even started."_

The meeting yesterday with the head of the National Hero Agency went well, in Eddy's opinion. However, it left too many unanswered questions for Eddy and a strange, new sense of fear that he had never thought about feeling before.

_"Am I just not going to go to school now?"_

_"You still have to go." Kim smiled. "Needless to say, you will learn and master the art of lying to your fellows. Because we try our best to keep your true identity hidden, you will definitely need to figure out a way to explain your sudden long-term absences."_

Lying. He had done that plenty of times before, but rarely to his own classmates and friends. His fingers fiddled with a small pearl on the edge of the box as he stared absentmindedly into thin air. The box was growing warmer, leaving behind a nonexistent imprint on Eddy's palm that burned. Wincing, he swallowed the bile before shoving it back in his pocket.

_"Is he going to be a fighter? We could have him as a primary agent - maybe secondary when he first starts out, but I'm nearly certain he'll be a primary in less than a year."_

_She shrugged. "It's up to you. I've worked with him on both field and intel. We only need to do some power training for field, and then he'll be set."_

_Kim's eyes lit up; Eddy's face glowed bright red as he continued to stand there. "Truly?_ _I've never seen him in intel."_

_"Truly. It's a work in progress."_

He jumped off of the kitchen stool and walked over to the office. His mother was busy with meetings at his school and his father was at work; he was all alone and he would definitely take advantage of this rare occasion. Eddy pushed the door open and took a step into the room, letting out a sigh at the familiar sight.

Plastered on all of the walls were newspaper clippings the family connected of his mother. His father was an avid supporter of everything she had done, and despite his mother's protests, he collected every last article everyone wrote about her and her heroism. Eddy felt the breath being knocked out of him as he shut the office door behind him with a click and leaned against the wall, his eyes focusing in on the photos and headlines.

_The Queen saves us all again!_

_Lightning successfully arrested thanks to the efforts of the valiant Ice Queen._

Eddy mustered the strength to walk over to one of the photos, his legs shaking at the strange sensation in his gut. There was his mother, her black hair tied up in a high ponytail, her face pulled into a wide grin. It was difficult for him to tell that it was even her, with how well the navy mask covered her face. She stood in the center of the frame, her arms crossed as the city around her continued to thrive in peace; the civilians around her stared at the jeweled suit and shimmering gear with astonishment and - Eddy felt like throwing up - relief in their eyes. He let out a shaky breath.

_"The agents are already talking about you. The media's getting ready to name you." Kim clapped his hands together. "What do you think you'll be named? Obviously, we don't have much control over the names, but I'm curious as to what you would want to be."_

_Eddy blinked. "I-I don't really know."_

_"Oh, come on. You're 15, right? What do you like? Teens have to love something."_

_"I can't say, sir. I'm not sure myself."_

_Kim shrugged. "I suppose. What if they called you something that connected you to your mother? Like... the Ice King? Ice Prince? King of Ice, Prince of Ice, Knight of Ice...?"_

He spun over to the other side of the office, where he could still see the blue wallpaper. There, the wall was entirely bare and Eddy sucked in a breath as he remembered why his father had left that section free of his mother for so long.

_He's waiting for me._

Eddy wandered over to the corner, his finger trailing the walls. It was so pristine: something about how empty it was sent shivers running down Eddy's spine. He shut his eyes, trying to imagine the wall being filled with newspaper clippings with his "hero name" scattered all over it, with photos of him standing just as tall as his mother was in the photo, a grin plastered on his face; he tried to feel another layer of paper and dried ink on top of the wallpaper as he pressed his sweaty palms against the blue, staining it with a thin layer of sweat.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could only imagine the blank wallpaper with scattered blue flowers.

* * *

Eddy watched as Kim's eyes lingered on the gold ring. It wrapped around his index finger, gleaming in the dim light of the room and radiating a heat of its own. He watched as Kim's entire face lit up at what this would mean for him and the agency, and stood there as Kim pulled out a sheet of paper and immediately started to speak of training protocols.

He couldn't help but frown.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one had to be edited to clarify a few things! apologies if that was confusing; since it was a major error on my part, it's been updated on both wattpad and ao3^^
> 
> with that said, thank you for reading <3

_February 2011_

_The Mantis apprehended thanks to the Ice Prince's valiant efforts!_

_Our hero saves the day once again!_

Eddy pretended to not notice all the whispers and amazed stares thrown in his direction as he waltzed into Mission Control. There was one mission on his mind right now, and that was receiving the yellow envelope that he knew would be in his mailbox along with all of the newspaper clippings for his father. He continued to brush past agents who were frozen in his presence, his brown eyes cold and hard and his posture rigid, until he reached the shelves of papers and envelopes.

He skimmed the cabinets for his number (he went by too many names: Eddy Chen, agent 203, the Ice Prince), before pulling out the rather large pile of mail that he had. Most papers here were articles that Kim had collected for him; he didn't bother to take a glance at the articles before placing them in his bag, ensuring that none of the edges were crumpled.

What was left in his hands was a small envelope with a red wax seal and a post-it.

_Let's chat. - K_

And even though Eddy's hands were shaking at the thought of tearing the envelope open, he knew that Kim's request had to be prioritized over whatever he wanted to do. He let out a quiet sigh, swung his bag over his shoulder once more, and stepped out of the room into the hallway with the bright lights and stuffy air.

* * *

"Are you excited for conservatory?"

Kim was sitting across from Eddy, his hands clacking away at a keyboard. The glasses on his face reflected the screen of the computer, obscuring his clouded eyes. He didn't particularly seem to care about Eddy or anything about his life, but after a few years of working with him, Eddy knew that he was much softer - and much more protective about his own agents - than he let on. It was something that Eddy found endearing, and he didn't mind Kim's overprotectiveness as much as some of the other agents did.

He shrugged. "Yeah. I haven't practiced for a while though, so I'm not sure how that will go."

"Ah, come on." Kim clicked his tongue and spun to face Eddy. "You'll be fine. You made it in for a reason, didn't you?"

"I guess."

"When's your move-in date?"

"In three days, I think? And then classes start five days after." Eddy leaned back in his chair, but not before taking a small piece of candy from Kim's desk. "Orientation is, uh, sometime between that, and that's when we'll be getting our schedules."

Kim nodded. "Sweet. You think you can manage a mission with the start of conservatory and everything?"

The envelope in Eddy's lap suddenly felt heavier.

"Of course."

"Good. Break the seal."

Eddy didn't have to be asked twice. He shoved the peppermint in his mouth and tore through the red seal like it was nothing, eager to devour the contents inside. His eyes glowed with a hunger as he pulled the beige paper out and began to skim the handwritten text inside. There were more items in the envelope - Eddy caught sight of a few photos and maps - but he found that the overall mission was typically the most exciting part for him to read.

His mind began to race as his eyes landed on the first few words.

_Mission Firebird._

"Firebird," Kim hummed, "True Agency. He's known for being quite chaotic. Quite infamous around here, if you ask around, and every agent who we've assigned to him had to drop the case due to severe injuries. I assume this will be a difficult case, so I want you to consider your workload before accepting it; worst case scenario, I'll assign another team to him, but I would rather not do so after last time-"

Eddy frowned. "He controls fire."

"And you're the best we have. You're more powerful than an entire team of agents who can control water. Your point is?"

He let out a quiet sigh, setting the mission paper down and digging into the folder for some other papers. Newspaper clippings of the Firebird, all of which highlight his destruction of agency resources and bases, littered the entire bottom. Eddy put his hand into the envelope, reaching for the photo of his new target, and pulled it out to give it a glance.

It certainly wasn't the clearest photo, no. But Eddy could sense the chaos that emanated from the figure, with how informally he dressed compared to most, if not all, of the agents in the National Hero Agency - his agency.

"He looks like a fashion disaster," Eddy mumbled.

"That's a pretty accurate description of him. He's the only one I've seen dressed this way too, so it isn't a True Agency trend. It's just the Firebird's style, it seems."

Thank the heavens this wasn't a True Agency trend; if every villain Eddy had to fight looked like this, he would have quit his job a long time ago to spare his vision. The Firebird was wearing a neon orange hoodie with blood red jeans and boots to match with it; his hood was pulled over his head, covering his forehead, but revealing a yellow mask that protected his eyes and nose. There was nothing that screamed "villain" about him other than the way he stood, with an air of confidence he carried in his posture and emotionless face.

Eddy continued to sit there, letting the warm feeling in his stomach start to grow. His eyes narrowed as it began to eat him away, filling him up with a twisted sense of excitement. He glanced back up at Kim, an unconscious grin growing on his face, and began to put the papers back into the envelope.

"Is there anything else I should know about him?"

Kim nodded. "Intel reports that he intends on destroying Base 52 in a few weeks. There's more information in one of the smaller slips of paper in the envelope if you want more information on that. The first thing I want you to do is protect the base if you know you can't arrest him before then."

"Understood." He stood up. "Is that all?"

"No. Sit back down."

Eddy hesitated before falling back into the chair.

"Do you want to know why I gave you this mission?" Kim didn't bother to wait for a reply before continuing to speak. "You work so quickly through everything. You caught the Mantis in a few weeks when we predicted that it would take you a few months. You took down the Lilac in no time. To me, it seemed as if you were trying to complete the missions as fast as possible. And, to me, these missions seemed too easy for you."

Silence.

"Don't think of this as a speed race. The Firebird's been tricky for everyone here, and he's definitely a dangerous one too. Destruction of nearly fifteen bases and counting, demolishing communication lines, multiple reported kidnappings - some of NHA agents as well - and more: you don't want to rush through this case." He returned his attention to the computer and continued to type. "He's been a challenge to all of us. He'll be a challenge to you too. Take your time."

"Who- What am I going against?"

"Your first true supervillain, I'd argue." A small grin appeared on Kim's face. "Heroes only become superheroes when the supervillains they defeat can't be defeated by anyone else but them."

Eddy swallowed.

"Go on, now. Make us proud, won't you?"


	3. Three

_February 2011_

"Do you have everything?"

Eddy skimmed over the checklist in his hands. Enough clothes for the trimester? Check. His violin, along with some extra strings? Check (the last thing Eddy wanted was to forget his instrument _again_ ). His laptop? Check. Most, if not all, of his gear? Check.

"I think so," he mumbled. "This doesn't feel like a lot though."

He certainly had little to bring to the conservatory. Even though he was moving away from home and living on his own for the first time, he only had two small suitcases and his violin case with him. It was everything he needed, yet not enough, but Eddy couldn't place a finger on what else he could possibly need to bring. After a moment of standing in silence, he put the checklist back in his pocket and shrugged.

His mother grinned. "You still have a few more days to think about it."

"I know. I guess I'll figure it out eventually."

"Knowing you, you'll realize you're missing something halfway through your semester."

Eddy frowned, shutting his suitcases and sparing a glare at his mother. "You don't have to call me out like that."

"It's my job." She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her eyes glittering. They met Eddy's eyes before glancing down at the ring that glinted on his right hand. "Did you take your mission file? Mission _Firebird?"_

He froze. "I don't need to take it with me."

"You've already memorized it?"

"It was a fascinating read." A small smile appeared on his face as he stood up, straightening his back. His mind flashed to the images and newspaper articles, all detailing everything the Firebird had done, along with all of the retired mission files that Eddy fished from the archives. There was quite a lot of information in the National Hero Agency library on its own, and Eddy had spent the entirety of yesterday cooped up in the library to read it. "There's a lot to consider in this mission. It'll be a challenge of sorts, but it should be fine."

His tone carried a sense of nonchalance; the sinking feeling in his gut suggested otherwise. He hoped the slight tremor in his voice wouldn't give the uncertainty that plagued his mind away.

She nodded. "You'll definitely be alright. You've taken down tons of heroes before, getting them arrested in little to no time. He'll be no different, right?"

"I guess."

"Besides, we've trained together." She took a few steps closer, the grin on her face widening and emphasizing some of the wrinkle lines on her face. "And we've been doing this for, what, two years?"

"T-That's true."

Eddy stayed silent as his mother reached for his hands, clasping them in her much warmer ones. He let the feeling in his gut grow as her thumb trailed the gold band and all of the tiny engravings that covered its surface.

"You're the Prince. You can take down anyone you want."

A pause.

"Yeah. I guess."

* * *

Eddy stepped into his room with his suitcases and violin. His mother had dropped him off earlier than most of the other kids, telling him that he needed time to hide all of his gear well so that his roommate wouldn't see anything. The last thing he wanted was to wake up at eight and show up to the conservatory at nine in the morning, when everyone else had to show up at noon.

But here he was.

_Ma was always one to be safe than sorry._

He let out a yawn and glanced around. The room was small for him and the other person, whoever they would be; he hoped his roommate didn't have too many belongings since there were only a few drawers here and there. Eddy moved straight to the bed closer to the corner of the room and fell onto the bare mattress, his eyes threatening to shut any second now from waking up hours before he normally would.

It wasn't long before he let sleep overtake him once again.

* * *

Eddy jerked awake once the door slammed open, his eyes swollen from his nap. For a second, panic flooded his senses - he couldn't recognize where he was - until his gaze found the "Emergency" sign by the door. The rush of adrenaline that lasted for a few seconds was enough to wake him up fully as he stood up on the carpeted ground, running a hand through his messy hair.

And then Eddy's eyes landed on everything else: the two suitcases that rested on the floor and the violin case that was thrown in the middle of the room without a care in the world. His heart stopped at the thought of all of his gear in the suitcase and how the hours he was supposed to spend unpacking was instead wasted on his nap. It took all of his strength to look at his roommate instead of facepalming and falling to the ground.

"Oh, uh, hey. I didn't think anybody would be in here."

The first thing Eddy noticed was how _dead_ his roommate seemed, with the bleak look in his eyes warning everyone to stay away from him. But everything else about him seemed soft, from how his entire posture curled into his white hoodie to the glasses that framed his round face to the small smile that graced his face when he stepped in.

Eddy had nearly forgotten about his lack of preparation as he waved at him, grinning as a response. "I figured. I came quite early; maybe around nine or so?"

"Nine?" The door clicked shut behind him. "Are you insane?"

"I don't think so. At least, I hope not." Eddy kicked both of his suitcases off to the side; he would deal with them later on, when his roommate was out or busy. He took a deep breath to calm his own nerves before taking a few steps and extending a hand to greet his roommate formally. "Anyways, it's nice to meet you. I'm Eddy."

They shook hands. His roommate's hands were significantly warmer than Eddy's - he already knew that other people would have warmer hands than he did because of his own abilities, but his felt like they were burning with a heat of their own. He glanced down at their clasped hands, his eyes catching on a black watch on his roommate's wrist.

"My name's Brett. It's nice to meet you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited owo;; been feeling a little tired these days, so i'll come back to it soon. i'll delete this note once it's all good c:
> 
> thank you for reading <3


End file.
